Page 52 of Ky

Her damp and limp hair clings to her scalp, giving her a sickly appearance with her pale face. Well, paler than she had been a week prior.

“Forget about the fight, let’s shoot up this place and kill the motherfucker and his fucking goons right now.” Ink leans into me, his voice gravelly, telling me he’s about as affected by what he’s seeing as I am.

“We’ll have our revenge, brother, don’t you worry.” I hiss, my voice laced with venom. “I don’t want anything to happen to Sera if we act too quickly. But what I need from you is to get her out of the cage while everyone is watching the fight,” I explain.

“As good as done, brother,” he replies. And our hands grab each other's elbows, a kind of truce settling between us. Our relationship has strengthened over the last week, after he’d admitted to me that there had been nothing but friendship between him and Sera. I just hope it lasts long enough for us to do what needs to be done.

Ink strides off and at that moment, Angelo appears, looking composed. I’m going to enjoy watching the life seep out of those eyes of his when I’m finally done with him. But for now, I play the role.

“Well, if it isn’t the star attraction,” he drawls, coming to stand next to me, his armed guards around him.

“Why is Sera in a cage?” I demand, my jaw clenches so tightly I’m sure I’ll break a tooth.

He smiles that slow, evil smile.

“Dear sister is my insurance policy,” he says. “Go out the back and get changed. The fight’s about to start,” he orders me and walks away. If it were any other time, I would’ve blownhis brains out, but because he’s holding all the cards at the moment, I reluctantly stride to the back of the warehouse where the change rooms are, and quickly change into my red boxing shorts, leaving the rest of me naked.

Tying my dark hair out of the way in a tight bun high on top of my head, I do a few minutes of warm-up exercises. Angel knocks before opening the door, saying, “You’ve been summoned. The fight’s about to start.”

I snort. “Of course. How’s Sera?” I ask. Something crosses his face that I can’t decipher, and when he says his next words, all I want to do is to run out there and kill the fucker.

“She was moved closer to the ring. She’s still in the cage.”

I take a few calming breaths, praying Sera can hold out just a little longer.

“Shit! I told Ink to get her out while everyone was preoccupied with the fight.”

A slow smile transforms his face. “Don’t worry, she’ll be out of that cage within the hour, if I have to break it open myself.”

Relief that my brothers have my back overwhelms me, and that’s the only thing that will get me through tonight.

For now, though, I need to be focused on the fight and getting the best of my opponent. Once we have Sera out of here and safe, and back at the clubhouse, then I’ll be able to breathe freely.

Loud, pounding music plays through the speakers positioned throughout the warehouse, a place that wasn’t as rundown as the last time I fought one of Angelo’s men. This time, I was determined to come out unscathed.

I could feel the rough edges of the gunshot wound on my shoulder as my fingers move over it. My Such Is Life tattoo—with wings on either side, runs from one shoulder, across my chest, to the other shoulder, covering it almost completely, as though it weren’t even there.

Angelo was yet to pay for that, but tonight I was going to make sure that he did.

“Come on, brother, it’s time,” Angel calls out. With one last exhale, I follow him out to the main arena. The first thing I notice is the cage, with Sera inside, her eyes tracking me as I get closer to the boxing ring. Seeing her in it makes me want to commit murder. But I was confident that Ink would successfully get her out, and if by some chance I wasn’t going to make it, at least she would be safe away from this place.

I silently convey with my eyes to hold on just a little longer. She gives a slight nod of her head, though she’s bent like a pretzel. I see Ink standing directly behind the cage, giving me a chin lift, his eyes lock on me, silently telling me he’s got this.

Putting everything else out of my mind, I climb into the ring, and that’s when I get my first look at my opponent.

It’s not the fucker we saw at Angelo’s last week, but a completely different guy, someone more evenly matched to me, and my heart rate suddenly ratchets up. The guy has a sneer on his face, like getting rid of me will be easy. I return it, as we touch boxing gloves.

Okay, motherfucker, let's do this.

And then suddenly, it’s on.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Seraphina

I can’t believe he just turned around and walked out without giving me a second glance. Even Ink seemed indifferent. After Ky and his brothers left, you could hear a pin drop. Unshed tears blur my vision, but I was determined not to cry.

Crying gets you nowhere.